Abu Ogogo

Position: Central Midfielder

Age: 29 *

At Club Since: Summer 2018

Total Club League Appearances (Goals): 8(0) *

The signing of a player who captained and played a key role in a side that went close to promotion from League One has to be considered something of a coup for a club newly-promoted to this level. As a physical and assertive sitting midfield player, it should be clear too that the signing of Abu Ogogo is a declaration from Mark Robins that he doesn’t expect Michael Doyle to play as big a role for us this season as he did last year. Ogogo is an important signing as it means that we won’t have to gamble on an ageing Michael Doyle not only staying fit for next season but being able to keep up with the pace of a higher-level of football.

It will be interesting to see how seamlessly Ogogo slots into the side, as I would imagine that Doyle won’t easily give up his place in the starting XI. While Ogogo and Doyle could be partnered together, it would be a midfield pairing lacking almost entirely in dynamism and would surely only be used in extreme circumstances – either via a lack of options or if we need to grind out a result against clearly superior opposition. Importantly, Ogogo’s signing frees Liam Kelly up to play the more aggressive box-to-box role that he excelled in last season. There is a slight concern with Ogogo given that he’s yet another player heading into the new season off the back of a fairly serious injury, but this is still an exciting and important signing for us nonetheless.